The StarfisJi and Its Kindred 55 



into those mystic depths. Majestic, rapturous hours! 

 Strange fishes slinking out of the shadowy maze, catch- 

 ing sight of my slightest movement, retreated ghost- 

 like into the deep blue. Others, less timorous, 

 dissolving into view would hover near, apparently un- 

 daunted by my presence. Often, however, I would 

 frighten them with a wild flourish of my arms to see 

 how far the silvery gleam of their scales could be fol- 

 lowed into the emerald depths beneath. And how al- 

 luring were those crystal waters ! Frequently I would 

 dive down into the inviting coolness of the limpid laby- 

 rinth to sit on some frond-wreathed beam as long as 

 the breath within me lasted. 



But that delightful rendezvous no longer exists. 

 With the exception of some half dozen rotting timbers 

 which are exposed at low tide, the hull has since dis- 

 integrated and its water-logged fragments are being 

 fast silted over on the harbor floor. It was not the 

 force of wind and waves, however, that brought 

 about its reduction, for this is a well-protected in- 

 let; the factor was far more subtle, but none the less 

 puissant. 



It is well known that the destruction of maritime 

 property by the shipworm {Teredo) is surpassed by 

 that of no other marine organism. Though com- 

 monly called the "shipworm," this creature is not a 

 worm; it is a moUusk; that is to say, a near relative of 

 the clam, the moon snail, and other shellfish. Its 

 wormlike form is due to its boring habit. Each female 

 is capable of spawning about a million young; and 

 these, unlike the adult which remains fixed in its bur- 

 row for life, are very active swimmers. When they 



